The Dark Army
by Elliryanna
Summary: Is Pitch Black really gone for good? What if he comes back, more powerful than before, with a new army of darkness, one that the Guardians had never expected? What if a new Spirit is chosen to be a Guardian, but had become one of Pitch's allies? How will the Guardians convince her to join them instead? My first fanfiction!
1. Prologue- Return of the Nightmare King

**The Dark Army**

**Summary: **Is Pitch Black really gone for good? What if he comes back, more powerful than before, with a new army of darkness, one that the Guardians had never expected? What if a new Spirit is chosen to be a Guardian, but had become one of Pitch's allies? How will the Guardians convince her to join them instead? My first fanfiction!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Rise of the Guardians or The Guardians of Childhood.

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**Prologue: Return of the Nightmare King**

A forest Spirit, also known as a Dryad, bounded through the jungle that she had called home, enjoying the sense of freedom she felt. The Nightmare King was finally defeated in the Battle of Belief and all the Spirits, or at least those who wished for peace, were rejoicing at the continuation of the Golden Age, and they owed it to the Guardians, who had fought bravely for them all. Smiling, the Dryad leapt over some bushes and continued running, the cool night wind buffeting her chlorophyll-tinged face. Free, at last, from the clutches of evil.

Or so she thought.

Her surroundings grew increasingly darker. The change was so gradual that the Spirit did not even notice the growing darkness. Then the air grew extremely hot and humid, almost intolerable, like a volcano on the verge of erupting. The Spirit stopped running and tensed. She could sense a sinister presence but could not zero on it for some reason. It kept on flitting around, concealing itself from her in the shadows. The Spirit thus summoned her whip made of vines. "Who's there?" she yelled, hoping to intimidate whatever it was in the darkness.

Silence. Then she could feel something like sand crawling up her leg, rapidly rising to her thighs and waist. She looked down and gasped in horror and fear. Nightmare sand! But how? The Nightmare King was gone since the Battle of Belief. Panicking, the Spirit swatted at it and tried to get rid of the vile substance as it continued climbing up her body, finally reaching her face.

At this point, the Dryad was properly frightened. She screamed, hoping for someone –anyone- to hear her as the sand engulfed her whole being. Not just her physical body but also her life, soul, memories, dreams, hope and happiness, leaving only a hollow husk of evil, jealousy and anger that what was once the forest Spirit. The last thing she heard was the familiar maniacal laugh of the Nightmare King.

Then silence. The Forest Spirit was gone, replaced by a ghostly shadow that knew nothing but violence, death and destruction.

No one knew what had exactly happened to the lively Spirit but one thing was sure. Pitch Black, the King of Nightmares had returned.


	2. Chapter 1- Impending Trouble

**The Dark Army**

**Summary: **Is Pitch Black really gone for good? What if he comes back, more powerful than before, with a new army of darkness, one that the Guardians had never expected? What if a new Spirit is chosen to be a Guardian, but had become one of Pitch's allies? How will the Guardians convince her to join them instead? My first fanfiction!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Rise of the Guardians or The Guardians of Childhood.

**Author's Notes:** Thanks to** The Shadow Gryphon** and **Apollo Holmes** for reviewing the prologue! I may not update that often because of school and other stuff.

To Apollo Holmes: Please teach me how!

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**Chapter I: Impending Trouble**

The Guardians were doing their rounds.

Toothiana, or Tooth, best known as the Tooth Fairy, was at Punjam Hy Loo, her palace, commanding her miniature fairies to collect teeth from the children all over the world. Colourful hummingbird-like fairies were flitting all around Tooth, fetching teeth, arranging them and putting them in their respective gold tooth boxes. All was well ever since the King of Nightmares was defeated by her and her fellow Guardians.

Until she saw the aurora borealis in the night sky, near the arctic region.

"What's wrong…?" Tooth wondered before zipping towards the North Pole, but not before making sure that her fairies still continued with their duties. The aurora borealis was a signal from a fellow Guardian whenever something or someone was in trouble. For some reason, the Guardian of Memories could not help but feel that something big was about to happen as she flew towards the arctic region hastily along with a few of her fairies, including Baby Tooth, one of her favourites.

* * *

E. Aster Bunnymund was overseeing his Easter eggs as they went around his Warren to get polished and coloured. The Easter Bunny walked around his home, decorating it with the various colours of spring out of boredom. Hey, a home needs to be pretty, right? Easter was a few months away and he had to be ready to deliver his eggs to the children from all over the world. No pressure.

Then he saw the aurora borealis in the sky. Trouble was afoot. That, he could tell. "What did ya do this time, North?" Bunny grumbled before setting the course of his tunnel towards the North Pole.

* * *

Sanderson Mcsnoozie, the Sandman, was currently in north Europe, giving the children sweet dreams as they slept. The silent Guardian sent his golden Dreamsands to do their work, coiling and entwining gracefully towards the sleeping children before entering their minds and taking the shape of whatever they were dreaming about, whether it was a unicorn or butterfly or anything else the child could dream of.

A sudden wave of light could be seen far up north.

Upon seeing that, he Sandman quickly created a Dreamsand aeroplane for himself before setting out towards North's workshop. He was sure that North would not call them for an urgent meeting unless there was a great deal about something. For example, Pitch Black. The Sandman shuddered at the thought of the Nightmare King returning to engulf the world in darkness.

* * *

Jack Frost was also interrupted in the middle of his duties by the aurora borealis. Well… If creating snow days and playing with children was considered as a 'duty'. The winter Sprit flew around Burgess, throwing snowballs at random children and getting them into the spirit of fun and games. The Guardian of Fun yelled in glee every time one of his snowballs successfully hit a child. He made the window panes of houses covered in frost and made a light snow fall, occasionally nipping a child's nose and making it numb with cold. In a nutshell, the Guardian was having a whale of a time frosting things.

The aurora borealis caught his eye, making Jack feel inquisitive as well as worried. This was the first time in so many years that a Guardian called for an urgent gathering. Probably a new threat has arisen. Jack could not stand at the thought of Pitch Black returning.

Clearing his thoughts, the winter Spirit called for the Wind to take him to the Pole.

* * *

St. Nicholas North paced the length of the entrance of his workshop, waiting for the other Guardians to arrive. He needed them to come- immediately- for he had some alarming news to share with the Guardians. The Spirits from all over the world had been rapidly disappearing for some reason. Nothing good, he would bet. Brows furrowed, the Russian man known as Santa Claus awaited for the arrival of his fellow Guardians.


	3. Chapter 2- The Gathering

**The Dark Army**

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**Summary: **Is Pitch Black really gone for good? What if he comes back, more powerful than before, with a new army of darkness, one that the Guardians had never expected? What if a new Spirit is chosen to be a Guardian, but had become one of Pitch's allies? How will the Guardians convince her to join them instead? My first fanfiction!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Rise of the Guardians or The Guardians of Childhood.

**Author's Notes: **I really appreciate the review by **Apollo Holmes** for the first chapter! It makes me want to continue on with the story! Thanks a bunch! The next chapter will be back to Pitch where he will carry on with his plan to dominate the world, so stay tuned!

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**Chapter II: The Gathering**

Toothiana was the second to reach the workshop. That was surprising, as she was part hummingbird flying at top speed. She zoomed into the entrance of the workshop, so fast that she became a multi-coloured blur, and called North's name, as the Guardian of Wonder was nowhere to be seen. Not looking where she was going, the Tooth Fairy barreled straight into Jack Frost in the main chamber of the workshop.

Both Guardians tumbled over one another through the air, trying to keep themselves aloft but to no avail. They landed with a loud thump, which was made louder with a yelp from Tooth and a shout from Jack, on the polished floor. Tooth was in an awkward position where she was sitting on Jack's chest, one of her feet planted squarely on his face. Jack let out a muffled groan while trying to untangle himself from the dizzy female Guardian.

And that was when Bunnymund chose to pop out from his tunnel.

Imagine the look of surprise and bewilderment when the Easter Bunny laid his eyes on the Guardians sprawled on the ground, trying furiously to untangle themselves off each other and not have anyone, save the elves and yetis in the workshop, to notice them like that. Then the surprised expression on Bunny's face turned into an amused smirk. "What are ya both doing?" he demanded, though his amused smile was still plastered on his face.

Tooth blushed scarlet, her eyes unable to meet with any of her fellow Guardians'. "Bunny! I-um-we…." She blushed even harder. Luckily for her, Jack was quick to come with an answer. "We were just practicing by flying fast, to train our reflexes in combat. Just in case you-know-who comes back," he said, referring to the Nightmare King for the last part.

"Humph." Bunnymund obviously did not buy that. He gazed at them both skeptically but did not prod them any further. He changed the topic. "Anyway, where is North?" he grumbled. "He didn't call us here for nothing, did he?"

As if on cue, the big burly Russian man appeared along with Sandy, the Sandman. They looked extremely troubled.

"Took him long enough," Bunny muttered crossly to himself.

North ignored Bunny's statement and took a deep breath, calming his nerves before delivering the message in a deep, throaty Russian accent. "The Spirits from all over the world are disappearing."

One could hear a pin drop after North said that. The room was so quiet. Even Bunnymund did not comment on anything. The silence lasted for a about half a minute before everyone except North and Sandy started talking at once.

"How is that possible?" Tooth fluttered her wings in a frantic motion.

"Could it be Pitch's doing?" Jack balled his fists.

"I should be able to locate them as long as Frostbite here doesn't interfere," Bunny claimed.

"I heard that, Kangaroo." Jack glowered, preparing a snowball and ready to hurl it at the Easter Bunny.

It took quite a while before North could get them to settle down. "Silence!" he yelled. That effectively got the other three Guardians to close their mouths and hold back the questions that were coming out in rapid-fire style. North paused for a while, as if daring the others to talk, before he continued," We don't know why or how the Spirits have been disappearing. It is a very peculiar case, I must say, but we cannot jump straight into conclusions."

Tooth, Sandy, Jack and Bunny nodded in agreement with North's statement.

North then said," That is why I will send Jack to Pitch's palace to check out if the Boogeyman is truly making a comeback against us."


	4. Chapter 3- The Night of the Blood Moon

**The Dark Army**

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**Summary: **Is Pitch Black really gone for good? What if he comes back, more powerful than before, with a new army of darkness, one that the Guardians had never expected? What if a new Spirit is chosen to be a Guardian, but had become one of Pitch's allies? How will the Guardians convince her to join them instead? My first fanfiction!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Rise of the Guardians or The Guardians of Childhood.

**Author's Notes: **Thanks for the review and follows! Like I said in the previous chapter, this chapter will be concentrated on the bad guys instead of the good ones. Oh yeah. I'm sorry if the first part of the chapter seemed a bit weird, with the cemetery in Burgess and all, but it was all for the benefit of the story.

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**Chapter III: The Night of the Blood Moon**

A few nights before the Guardians' gathering, a strange phenomenon occurred. So strange it was that it seemed to originate from the power of the moon itself. In fact, it _was _from the moon.

That strange occurrence was known as the Blood Moon.

It was when the moon was completely red. It was the only time when the Man in the Moon did not have any control over his domain. It was also the time when the ancient forces of evil were stirring. Its great negative energy produced could be used by certain evil Spirits who want to plunge the world into darkness.

Spirits such as Pitch Black.

The Nightmare King, also known as the Boogeyman, took advantage of the pure darkness that radiated from the ever-powerful Blood Moon. He shadow-travelled to the old cemetery in that city Burgess and looked for the one tomb he needed.

_Here lies the body of Melinda Overland who died at the age of 19._

_She was born in this town on 1671 and died on 1690._

_Rest In Peace._

Pitch cackled softly. Perfect. The perfect victim. The Guardians would not know what hit them.

Concentrating on his dark energy, the Nightmare King performed an eerie ritual that made the shadows distort and weave themselves around him. The tombstone glowed indigo in the darkness as Pitch chanted an ancient necromancy spell. Soon, a hiss could be heard. A _snake's _hiss. Then a body rose from the bottom of the grave.

It was a female humanoid snake's body. The young lady had writhing pythons as hair and her feet were replaced by a long, scaly, serpent-like tail, complete with slimy green scales. Her features, once beautiful, were disfigured by the protruding fangs from her frothing mouth and scales that lined her face. The snake lady had sharp features and glowing green eyes with narrow slits as pupils and she wore a black gothic- style dress, almost like a mourner. Her tiny red forked tongue flickered in and out of her mouth, tasting the cool night air.

_Medusa._ The shadows told her. _Your name is Medusa._

The snake lady blinked, looking at Pitch as her eyes stopped glowing.

Pitch smiled sinisterly. "Welcome back to life, Medusa. You shall be my servant from now on. You shall be the bane of Jack Frost!" he cackled.

The humanoid snake smiled evilly at the sound of her new name and disappeared into the darkness with her new master. She was no longer Melinda Overland, sister of the only other person she could remember: Jackson Overland, her older brother. She was now Medusa, servant of the Boogeyman, and future assassin of Jack Frost.

* * *

In the mountains of the north, a howl could be heard from a deep and dark cave. The call of the werewolves.

Lyacon, king of the werewolves, rallied his troops, his yellow-rimmed eyes betraying no emotion or mercy. He howled again as more wolves assembled before him. He gazed down at his troops from his position at the top of a boulder. "Today, we shall feast!" he bellowed. The other wolves growled and roared in approval. "We shall feast on our enemies' fear and blood. We will rule the world in darkness, where we will have an endless supply of flesh! Today, we have allied ourselves with the Nightmare King to bring the world on its knees before us! Let our first target be Toothiana, whom you know had cursed us of our fate! We shall feed on her very being and existance!" Lyacon roared, his jaws slavering at the thought of ripping the Tooth Fairy to pieces.

* * *

An insect flew into a cave. It flitted in and out of the stalagmites, concealing itself from predators in the darkness. Suddenly, it could not seem to move. It was as if it was stuck to something and was trying to escape from it.

Suddenly, a spider's web materialized. So that was what the insect had flown into. A web! And, oh my goodness, how huge it was. The entire cavern was filled with the silky substance. No one would be able to get out of that place alive, with all these sticky silk around.

Then a huge, hulking figure appeared. It was a spindly creature with eight legs- every insect's nightmare. Arachne, the queen of the spiders was here. The lady spider had long, loose hair that covered her grotesque face. Her body was a spider's torso and her eight spindly legs worked faster than a normal eye could follow. Why, oh, why did that insect wander in that place? Its fate was sealed. It was going to end up as one of the mutilated carcasses left hanging on the edges of the blood-stained web. Cowering, it resigned itself to writing its obituary that none of the sensible creatures would ever read.

"It is time," Arachne hissed, a raspy voice. "The Blood Moon is here. It is time for me to break out of my prison and suffering the Guardians have put me in. I will have my revenge. Hear my words, E. Aster Bunnymund! I will come for you, and you will bow before me!"

* * *

Deep in the darkness in an unknown place, a Spirit of Chaos struggled under the weight of the chains he was shackled in. Slowly, his strength gathered bit by bit, and with the help of the power of the Blood Moon, the giant Chaos Spirit attempted to break out of the prison he had been in for centuries. He struggled, fighting against his chains and shackles….

And suddenly, he was free.

The snake of Chaos slithered out of his prison, towards the fortress of his new patron, Pitch Black. His eyes glinted maliciously as his blood red scales reflected off the red moonlight, giving the illusion of him turning into liquid fire. He had allied himself with the Nightmare King for only one purpose.

Revenge on the accursed Guardian of Wonder, St. Nicholas North, who had caused him a great deal of pain and suffering, and was the one who had chained him up for all those years.

The snake of Chaos, Apophis, was free.


	5. Chapter 4- The Mission

**The Dark Army**

* * *

**Summary: **Is Pitch Black really gone for good? What if he comes back, more powerful than before, with a new army of darkness, one that the Guardians had never expected? What if a new Spirit is chosen to be a Guardian, but had become one of Pitch's allies? How will the Guardians convince her to join them instead? My first fanfiction!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Rise of the Guardians or The Guardians of Childhood.

**Author's Notes: **I will like to thank Apollo Holmes for contributing some ideas into the plot that I will improvise as the story unfolds. I also want to apologise for the shortness of this chapter. Until then, stay tuned!

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**Chapter IV: The Mission**

"What?!" Toothiana and Bunnymund yelled in unison, though for two very different reasons. Bunny's eyes became as big as saucer plates as soon as he heard the shocking news. "Why not me?" he whined. "I'm sure I can thrash Pitch better than Frostbite! Why does he get all the fun?"

Jack smirked in triumph, which caused Bunny to narrow his once huge eyes. "Because I'm the Guardian of Fun?"

"Oh, shut it, Show Pony." That, obviously, caused Jack's grin to widen. He was not going to let Bunny steal the limelight this time.

Tooth was, on the other hand, concerned. She flew over to him and touched his shoulder in a motherly gesture as Bunny glowered. "Will you be alright?"

Jack smiled tenderly at Tooth. He knew she always had a soft spot for him, and would always be worried if he volunteered for a dangerous mission, like this one. He let her hand rest on his shoulder. "I'll be fine," he replied gently, though Tooth's expression told him that she was not convinced. Then, suddenly, she let go of his shoulder and flew to North.

"It's too dangerous for him to go alone," Tooth argued. North frowned. "It's just a short trip and he'll come back."

"At least let me come with him, in case Pitch is really back." Tooth protested.

"No. For one, the rest of the Guardians are going to go together and check on the bigger threat. Apophis has broken out from his prison. Besides, even if Pitch is back, he'll be too weak to even take on Jack, and Jack's powers are much more powerful and easy to control after all these years since the Battle of Belief."

"But…" Tooth was silenced with a glare from North. Sighing dejectedly, she flew back to Jack. "Sorry… I can't help you…"

Jack chuckled. "I'll be fine, Tooth. Maybe I'll even get you a souvenir when I get back!"

And with that, he flew off, hearing a last unflattering comment from Bunny, an angry sigh from North which was directed at Tooth, and seeing a wave from Sandy and the worried look on Tooth face.

"Now, let's get to business," North told the other Guardians and they followed him. However, no one but the Queen of the Toothfairies noticed the tiny miniature fairy known as Baby Tooth flying after Jack, staying high in the sky to be unnoticed by anyone except Tooth herself.

Tooth smiled inwardly, knowing that Jack now was not alone.


	6. Chapter 5- Fall to Darkness

**The Dark Army**

* * *

**Summary: **Is Pitch Black really gone for good? What if he comes back, more powerful than before, with a new army of darkness, one that the Guardians had never expected? What if a new Spirit is chosen to be a Guardian, but had become one of Pitch's allies? How will the Guardians convince her to join them instead? My first fanfiction!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Rise of the Guardians or The Guardians of Childhood.

**Author's Notes: **I am so sorry for not updating! By the way, Jack's new name came from his original name and the words will 'o wisp.

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**Chapter V: Fall to Darkness**

Not many know this but Burgess, at the moment, was a dangerous place to be in.

Jack was one such Spirit that didn't know about the dangers of the shadows that were lurking around, whipping around him sinisterly. He thought that Pitch was really gone for good, and, thus, was careless. He flew around, carefree, and even did some stunts in midair. For what purpose, no one knew. One could argue that he was not on a dangerous mission.

Jack flew past houses, and created a flash freeze, whooping in delight and triumph as the pavements and roads suddenly crackled with ice and frost. He slowly went to where Pitch was last banished.

Then the atmosphere turned grim and dark, and the shadows tugged at Jack insistently to go into the hole that led to the underground fortress_. Come_, they seemed to say. _Come, and witness the horrors of the underground, Jack Frossst… _The shadows hissed at him with absolute loathing, yet with an insistent and alluring, almost hypnotic tone.

The winter Spirit's mind went blank. "O…. Okay…." He managed to mumble and started to lower himself down the hole. His eyes were glazed from the hypnotic spell.

* * *

Baby Tooth noticed all that from a distance. _Jack! _She screamed in fright, hoping that he would hear her. Nothing, obviously. _Oh, no! I have to follow him! _She then zoomed into the hole in pursuit of the Guardian of Fun. _ I… I have to tell Toothiana about this!_

The miniature fairy plunged into eternal darkness.

* * *

Jack followed the shadows' command without question, walking in the dark like a hypnotised Spirit, which, he probably was. He slowly lost sight of his mission and purpose, succumbing to the ever-growing darkness.

An ominous laughter and a hiss of triumph could be heard.

_Good. Good boy, Jack Frost. _The shadows cooed as they watched him stumble around, before he passed out.

A humanoid snake slithered out of the shadows. She had come to battle the winter Spirit Jack Frost. Medusa waited in anticipation, her forked tongue darting in and out of her mouth as she licked her black-tinted lips. In her right hand clutched a flaming whip. She was ready to destroy him, but, on her Master's orders, she would not, as much as she would like to. Pitch Black had somehow felt that the said Guardian could be something more useful than being just a plaything. Perhaps even a possible ally.

The winter Spirit approached her, staggering and having his energy sapped by the overwhelming darkness. Medusa frowned. What kind of challenge was this? She made her whip disappear. Never mind. At least he was at his weakest. Medusa then started to drag him to the Nightmare King.

Pitch Black was waiting for her. He had his hands on his hips and his left foot was tapping at the ground impatiently. He finally saw her. "Did you bring Jack Frost back here?" he questioned her in anticipation. She nodded, holding up the Spirit by the neck. Pitch smiled and pointed to the round in front of him. "Good. Put him here and you are dismissed." Medusa nodded. "Yes, Master." She dumped Jack at Pitch's feet before slithering off.

Pitch took in a deep breath, and took out an orb with red and black sands swirling around it. He brought it to the fallen Guardian's chest and cackled. The orb started to absorb the Guardian's essence, very much like how it absorbed the other Spirits' life, and corrupting him. Nightmare Sand started to engulf the unconscious Guardian of Fun. Red and black lights swiveled around the Guardian, changing him, twisting him, making him fall to the clutches of evil. Then the lights dimmed, and disappeared, and a reformed Jack kneeled before Pitch. His white hair had turned black. His blue hoodie and brown pants turned red and black respectively, and his eyes glowed the most sinister shade of blood red. Atop his staff stood a flaming skull.

Jack Frost was gone. In his place stood a new Spirit- Jack 'O Wisp.

Pitch laughed. It worked. Jack Frost was corrupted. And this time, he was sure, the Guardians were doomed.

* * *

Baby Tooth almost squealed in fright from her perch behind a pillar in the fortress, which would have blown her cover. She zoomed back to the North Pole, desperate to inform the Guardians about this.


End file.
